SECRET REVEALED: Oil and Gas Companies Are Big Winners from #TrumpTax

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the announcement that oil companies expect a $190 billion windfall from the Republican tax plan, and Speaker Ryan’s tweet touting $1.50 tax breaks for working families, Not One Penny Spokesperson Robyn Patterson released the following statement.

“While Speaker Ryan brags about giving $1.50 a week to working families, Republicans are lavishing hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks on big oil. Oil companies had already skirted many tax laws and taken advantage of subsidies that prop up their industry–and now Republicans in Congress and President Trump have handed over even more massive tax breaks. The American people need a tax code that makes the wealthy pay their fair share and helps our working families get ahead–not one that gives even more to big oil while our families pay the price.”

So far, oil and gas giants report at least $14 billion dollars in tax breaks, thanks to the TrumpTax.

When President Donald Trump gives his State of the Union address Tuesday night, he’ll surely tout the sweeping U.S. tax overhaul approved by Congress last month. For the country’s oil explorers, the law should mean an almost $200 billion boost in asset values, one consultant says.

The combination of a lower corporate tax rate, reduced pass-through rates for partnerships and accelerated expensing of capital costs should mean a post-tax increase of 19 percent, or $190.4 billion, for explorers with profitable assets, researcher Wood Mackenzie Ltd. said in a estimate released Tuesday.

Exxon said the federal tax law enacted by President Trump in December gave the company a non-cash earnings gain of $5.9 billion. That’s because the corporate tax rate has been lowered from 35% to 21%. Like other companies, the reduced rate allowed Exxon to write down the amount of money it owed Uncle Sam in the future, known as deferred income taxes

The Houston-based refining and petrochemical giant reported a $3.2 billion profit in the fourth quarter, up from $163 million from the same period last year. The company’s annual profit topped $5.1 billion, more than triple the $1.55 billion it reported in 2016. The dramatic year-end increase was largely a result of the U.S. tax code overhaul, which gave the company an extra $2.7 billion. Without that boost, the company earned $548 million in the fourth quarter, down from $858 million in the third quarter.